- So I'm here with the bike of Sarah True,
two time US Olympic athlete,
third place finisher at Ironman 70.3 World Championships
in 2017, and just shy of the podium
with fourth place at Ironman Kona in 2018.
This is her race bike for the 2019 season,
Specialized Shiv TT.
[Shimmery Sounds]
[Funky Music]
Right then, having a look at this
stunning and very striking frameset
on this Specialized Shiv,
it is unlike anything else that is on the market.
Completely revolutionized the shape of
the previous Specialized model.
I'm a huge fan.
The first thing that strikes me
sitting here in the sunlight
is the colour on this frame.
The paintwork is absolutely stunning,
it's shimmering between purple and a slight green tinge,
just depends on the light that's hitting the frame
so I think that alone is absolutely stunning.
Right, looking at the front of this frame set,
can't help but notice these stunning forks
that Specialized have designed.
Totally different to regular forks
that you see on other bikes
because there isn't a crown.
These forks run straight from the skewer
all the way up to the base bar
which is entirely different to anything else
that's out there.
I love it, I think they look absolutely stunning.
Right, moving from the front of the frame
to the back of the frame,
we've got an equally striking bit of kit
on this new Specialized,
and that is the hydration FuelCell.
Previous editions of the Specialized,
they had the hydration stored within the frame set in here,
but now they've externalised it,
put it in behind our seat down tube,
and effectively made this incredible aerodynamic fin
or fairing type of effect
and I think it looks incredible,
because it is totally different.
I'm a really big fan of that.
They haven't just got a hydration FuelCell,
they've replaced this space
that was the internal hydration in the previous models
with a space they've called the nutrition FuelCell.
It means you can slide your gels and any other food things
that you need for race day in there.
[Funky Music]
Now moving on to the wheel set on Sarah's bike
which is a really eye-catching set of wheels I think.
It's Specialized own Roval designed wheels
64mm front deep section,
and the rear Roval disc is a wheel
that I've not seen before,
its starting to become more and more popular
with the Specialized athletes,
a very very fast set of kit indeed.
Capped on top of these rims is Specialized's own
turbo cotton tubulars, and these ones
that Sarah are running are 26mm in width.
So following on from Sarah's wheel set
we have to talk about the brakes
that are stopping this machine,
and that is the further big change that you can see
on this new Shiv.
Because it's now a disc brake bike,
and it's Dura-Ace calipers that are on this bike.
And talking about Dura-Ace, that leads us nicely
into the group set that Sarah is using,
because it is the Dura-Ace 9100 Di2 electronic gearing
that she has on here.
It is a 55/42 chain ring combination on the front
with 167.5mm cranks,
topped off with standard Dura-Ace pedals.
Moving further back to the cassette
we've got a 11 speed, 11/28 cog cassette,
standard Dura-Ace derailleur
and standard Shimano chain.
[Funky music]
So now moving on to the cockpit on Sarah's bike
and it's another example of how aerodynamically clean
this machine is.
There is nothing that shouldn't be there
that's presenting itself to the wind.
Got a very very flat integrated base bar
like I said before, connecting the forks into the base bar
and then straight shot through onto that top tube.
Really, really impressive.
I love the look of this bike from where I'm sitting.
So then moving up onto the actual cockpit
we've got this single monotower riser that raises
the Aero Bars up above that base bar
that I've just been talking about.
Quite a significant riser that Sarah has on the bike here
and that leads us up to the Aero Bars
that she's got on the bike,
with the standard Specialized arm cups.
In between there we've got an Aero Bottle mount
for a standard water bottle.
Most significantly,
we've got the straw from that rear hydration system
that runs down through the bike, up through the down tube
and pops up here for her to drink
whatever she wants to store back there.
So she could have two options:
she could have water back there, energy drink in there
or whatever suits her.
Finishing off with the cockpit,
we've got the blips for her Di2 gearing
and Dura-Ace brake levers here on the ends of her base bar.
And to finish off Sarah's bike, we can't forget her saddle,
and she is running a standard Specialized Sitero saddle.
Right I have really enjoyed taking a peak
at Sarah's race-ready Specialized Shiv,
and as I'm sure you're aware,
I am a big fan of the paint work on this frameset.
I just think it is stunning.
Depending on where the light's coming from
it's a different color,
and I just think that is really cool to have on your bike.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this video too,
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and if you want to see a video we did about Tim Don's Shiv
but in training mode, you can find that here.